Miscalculation
by Shu of the Wind
Summary: He freezes then, and the only thing he knows is that Mako is on the floor, quiet and unmoving, and there are Equalists in every direction. Implied Makorra. Bolin POV. No character death. Drabble.


**Miscalculation  
by Shu of the Wind**

There's fire everywhere. Bolin's choking on smoke, and the ozone in the air is making his hair stand on end. There are Equalists everywhere, chi-blockers and men with electric tanks, and he can't remember how they managed to drop into this, but they have to get out of it somehow.

He hears it before he sees it, the wild cry, and he slams earth up into the jaw of the nearest tank-bearer before whirling. He freezes then, the whole world freezes, even Korra stops moving, and the only thing he knows is that Mako is on the floor, quiet and unmoving and there are Equalists in every direction. His brother's name bursts from him in a scream that tears at his throat, pure panic made tangible.

"_MAKO_!"

He can't remember bolting for his brother's body, but suddenly he's beside him, and in the next instant the whole warehouse shakes. There's blood on Mako's jaw, trickling down from the top of his head, and his eyes are closed and for a heart-stopping instant he can't tell if he's breathing — for an instant he's _not_, and Bolin can't breathe either, because it's his brother and what will he do without Mako? — but then the firebender takes a shallow breath, and Bolin feels the tears in his eyes. _Alive. Alive. He's alive._ But the warehouse is still shaking, and there's a queer pale light flickering over the walls, and the Equalists haven't drenched him yet. He keeps a hand on Mako's shoulder as he turns.

Korra.

It's Korra, but it's not Korra. There's nothing about her that reminds him of his friend, his teammate, the girl who had sneaked into a pro-bending arena and convinced them to let her join them. There's nothing in her that's recognizable, nothing in her that's benevolent, either. Her eyes are glowing, her mouth pressed into a thin angry line.

The Avatar lifts her arms. Someone screams then. It's all chaos. People push and shove by them in their attempts to escape. Earth swallows men whole. Bolin can't breathe; he clenches Mako's shoulder in one hand, left together in the one place where the earth remains untouched, where fire doesn't scorch the walls. His mouth is dry; his heart is pounding in his ears.

"Korra!" He bellows, but even the air is moving now, and she can't hear him. Her name whips away with the wind. He looks down at Mako again, who is stirring, quietly, his eyes flickering, and then he squeezes his brother's shoulder and stands.

It takes everything in him to keep his balance. The wind snarls at him. Fire flickers on the roof. The Equalists are darting in every direction, and one of them nearly knocks him to the ground before a tongue of water curls around his ankle and drags him back, deep into the earth. His scream won't get out of Bolin's head. The walls of the warehouse are coming down, wood is exploding, and he's as close as he dares to get to the Avatar. Closer than sanity. He takes a deep breath, and then he shouts again, and for some reason, this time, the wind dies down just enough for him to hear himself. "_Korra_."

Her head tilts. She looks at him, and the Equalist in his prison of water stops screaming. Bolin is shaking, he's never been so terrified, but there's only one thing he can think to say, only one thing that makes sense. "Korra, he's okay. He's all right. He's alive."

Her eyes widen. The light flickers. It's still there, but it's dimmer. She turns back to the Equalist, watching him carefully. He's the only one left. Slowly her hands relax, and the wind dies, as sudden as a shattered pot. All at once he's choking on smoke. A hand lands on his shoulder, and it's Mako, his mouth slightly open, his golden eyes as large as Bolin has ever seen them.

Korra's feet touch ground again, her hands close into tight fists, her eyes close and open and they're normal again, the same clear blue. She looks at Mako, and for a moment, Bolin can feel it in the air. Crackling relief. Her whole face softens, just a bit. Then she blinks, and she looks at them both, and he can see her terror, in the line of her mouth and the way she suddenly looks away.

Then Korra bolts. She's there, and then in the next heartbeat, she's done a wild somersault through the nearest hole in the wall, and suddenly the fact that the warehouse is burning matters, because the second she vanishes Mako reaches forward — "Korra—" — and he loses his balance. Bolin has to throw a shield of earth up around them to keep them from being crushed by falling wood and metal beams, and he watches Mako in the dark, his heart still pounding.

_This is what it means to be the Avatar,_ he thinks.

When the world finally stops moving, Bolin uses the earth to shift them out of the wreckage. Mako grunts. He looks worse in the light. Blood and bruises. Bolin's ankle is throbbing from the tearing grip of the Equalist, but the air is fresh out here, and he can see the sparkle of the pro-bending area. _Home._ He can see Air Temple Island too, and something in his throat clenches shut. He has to tuck an arm around Mako's waist to keep his brother from falling, and he takes a breath before forcing a smile onto his face.

"Come on," he says. "We need to patch you up."

Mako says nothing. But he's watching the island. Bolin's smile softens, turns real, and starts walking.

_They're both idiots._

* * *

**A/N.**

Originally posted on Tumblr.

Just a little drabble. :3 First Korra fic though, so I'm excited~


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